89 million people unemployed

[Burroughs]

...And yet the *official* unemployment rate is 7.9%

:crackup: :crackup: :crackup:

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2012/12/07/record-89-million-americans-not-in-the.html

 

[Aristippus]

Burroughs,

I never believed the "official" numbers that the government tries to sell via the media. I think it's simply a way for government officials to either save face or to prevent panic. Over the years, for many years, I've felt like the numbers were always doctored. From natural disasters that happen here in the US (I believe a lot of times the media reports a lower number than the actual number of people who died in major disasters like hurricanes), to the number of US soldiers killed in the war that has been going on for the past 12 years.

When I kept hearing the morons on the news saying the unemployment rate here was less than 10 percent, in my mind I kept saying to myself that it's a load of b.s. Plus, they don't count the people that lost a decent paying job and were forced to take a job that pays very little in order to survive. Instead they spin it into a success and say "new jobs were created". They just fail to mention that the person is making 1/2 to 1/3rd of what he was making before.

On top of this, all you have to do is look around. Either by talking to the people you know or just observing people in general, you know the unemployment rate is MUCH higher than they're saying it is. And it's not unusual to hear about people who have been looking for work for over a year, and either still haven't found work or after a year or two of searching, have finally found work. Once again, when they do, it's usually not at the level of pay they had before.

Although I know the level of unemployment is high, my belief was that instead of the lowball percentage they were giving, that it might be closer to 25-30% unemployment, with a good percentage of those working being underemployed/making less money for their level of skill. If the number really is closer to 40%, like this article says, I thought it was bad but it's even worse than I thought. Not sure how accurate their numbers are but I'd say 33-35% might be a realistic number if you account for possible errors. So my official, b.s. guesstimate is that there's an unemployment rate of 33%, or 1/3rd. Hey, if the government can do it, so can I.

 

[Bokanovsky]

Granted, some of these 89 million are legitimately left out of labor force statistics (i.e. seniors, full-time students, stay at home moms, prisoners, etc.) However, there are also untold millions of working-age people who have either a) given up on looking for a job, b) are welfare leeches or c) live on the proceeds of crime who are not counted as the unemployed.

 

[sodbuster]

THAT is the best way to calculate... How many are pulling the wagon and how many are IN it. SSI, Disability,unemployment, etc. are all coming out of the public till.

 

[Jitterbug]

I never believed the "official" numbers that the government tries to sell via the media.

It's massaged stats. One way to do it is to count anyone who has had a casual or part time job in the last so many years (even if they only had it for a month) as "employed".

 

[Warrior74]

As a person who was unemployed for a year and a half, let me tell ya. It was rough out there. I started my own business because I had to. I'm keeping it going because fvck a job, I can be back there tomorrow.

 

[Nutz]

53% of those not working are women, many (if not most) of which are unemployed by choice. The real question is how many of those 89 million are out of the workforce by choice?

 

[Colossus]

It is not an easy market out there. I lost my job in November, and relocated to the west and didn't find work until the end of January. That may not sound long on paper, but this is in a "high demand" area of the medical field. I have a professional license, graduate degree, etc. I sent my CV out and applied to practices on a daily basis.

It was a bit of a rude awakening for me. No one is irreplaceable, and no job is truly secure. Thank God for every day you are gainfully employed or earning a living.

 

[Fatal Jay]

...And yet the *official* unemployment rate is 7.9%

:crackup: :crackup: :crackup:

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2012/12/07/record-89-million-americans-not-in-the.html

Great thread, that's why I don't even watch the bull$hit news channel, I only watch the news to see how hot the news anchors are. Seem like all news channels have the airhead hot bimbo as the reporter.

America is done guys, and very soon everyone will feel the full fledge effects. Stock up on ammo and guns guys and stay prayed up.

Colossus keep your head up homie, I got a bull$hit job, but I thank God I got one, its rough out here.

 

[Scaramouche]

Dear Collossus,
Your story of a Qualified MD being unemployed, is unbelievable....Particularly when we hear the unbelievable cost of medical care in your Country...Why not think about Australia?...Very similar to US but without most of your problems,though our Women are probably even worse than yours ...Chose your own Climate,relaxed life style,friendly people...Finding a job for you would be like falling off a log!

 

[EastWind]

It is not an easy market out there. I lost my job in November, and relocated to the west and didn't find work until the end of January. That may not sound long on paper, but this is in a "high demand" area of the medical field. I have a professional license, graduate degree, etc. I sent my CV out and applied to practices on a daily basis.

It was a bit of a rude awakening for me. No one is irreplaceable, and no job is truly secure. Thank God for every day you are gainfully employed or earning a living.

Germany is lacking in qualified doctors, especially in rural areas. Women are slightly better, but the beer and food is phenomenal.

 

[my1ken]

Take it from the news *go figure*

 

[seasonedplayer]

The pro Obama media will do anything to help the anointed one

 

[synergy1]

It is not an easy market out there. I lost my job in November, and relocated to the west and didn't find work until the end of January. That may not sound long on paper, but this is in a "high demand" area of the medical field. I have a professional license, graduate degree, etc. I sent my CV out and applied to practices on a daily basis.

It was a bit of a rude awakening for me. No one is irreplaceable, and no job is truly secure. Thank God for every day you are gainfully employed or earning a living.

A- ****ing- men bro. As someone in the same sort of situation in another field, when I was looking for work a few years ago it was the same results. heck im sure those SOB posts are still floating around this forum! Learning that one is completely replaceable really puts things in perspective and is one of those things that brings us closer to that thing called adulthood.

All these cool pieces of paper, accolades and smarts we think we have are not as useful as we think. Connections, more than this will probably help get you a job. There are SO many qualified , experienced people looking for work and are willing to take low wage temp crap just to get by. Despite what our stock market is doing, its still ****ty out there.

It seems the choices are fewer and fewer for a working class individual in the USA. Wages are stagnant, prices are going up, and there are fewer jobs with more people to compete with. Want to go out on your own? the USA its unappealing to pursue ideas in some fields due to lawsuits and patent infringements. The cost of doing business here is also prohibitive, as is the legal loops one has to jump through for other types of business.

 

[DonJuanabe]

Debasement of currency and high level of deficit spending by the Congress combined with monetization of that debt by the Federal Reserve and a refusal by the Obama Administration to punish investments banks for civil and criminal acts will lead to the economic situation we see today. Too bad everyone votes for the same dbags over and over.

 

[Burroughs]

Debasement of currency and high level of deficit spending by the Congress combined with monetization of that debt by the Federal Reserve and a refusal by the Obama Administration to punish investments banks for civil and criminal acts will lead to the economic situation we see today. Too bad everyone votes for the same dbags over and over.

Both congress and the presidents are puppets of the Federal Reserve....

The only role of the president and the congress is to give people the illusion of real government, the illusion that their vote *counts*, and not show their puppet strings

debt and money printing are controlled by the Federal Reserve...the board of the FED are the defacto rulers of the world

 

[DonJuanabe]

"debt and money printing are controlled by the Federal Reserve...the board of the FED are the defacto rulers of the world"

What else is new since 1913?

 

[Burroughs]

^

sadly this is not common knowledge

 

[MikeOck]

The November BLS jobs numbers show there are 244 million Americans over the age of 16 and not in a prisons, mental hospitals or nursing homes.

Of that total, 155 million are counted in the civilian labor force. Of that figure, 143 million have jobs.

244 million Americans over 16 who are not in prison, mental hospitals or nursing homes
-
143 million who have jobs
=
101 million American adults not in prison, mental hospitals or nursing homes who do not have jobs

That would be about 1 in every 2.4 people over the age of 16 is unemployed (244 divided by 101), which is a true unemployment rate of 41.667%.

 

[sodbuster]

BUT if they have a "bad back" and can't work[but can hunt,snowmobile,dance all night]...they don't count as unemployed, but on disability. Hell of alot of people disables since the crash.